What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mental Health Specialist position at Bank Street College of Education?
Mental Health Specialist, Lower School (Focus on Preschool to 1st Grade)
Start Date: Late August 2025 Salary: 61K–150K
Schedule: This role is a 10-month position, and is in the Professional Employees’ Federation (PEF), the union for faculty members at Bank Street College. The hours for this position are 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Mondays through Fridays, and until 5:00 PM on Wednesdays for a weekly afternoon faculty meeting. This role also includes occasional work that happens outside of the school day such as for event support such as parent meetings, curriculum night and open houses.
About the School
A leader in progressive education for more than 100 years, the Bank Street School for Children provides students, from nursery through 8th grade, an education that engages their natural curiosity, nurtures critical thinking, and helps to develop a sense of community and social responsibility. Through a teaching approach that is fundamentally hands-on and child-centered, Bank Street students develop the courage and confidence to think independently, work collaboratively, understand themselves and others more deeply, and possess the compassion to make meaning of the world around them.
About the Position
The Bank Street School for Children is seeking a collaborative, experienced and knowledgeable individual to fill the position of Mental Health Specialist in our Lower School (Preschool to 4th Grade). While this role will support the entire Lower School, it will focus on Preschool through 1st grade. This specialist may be a psychologist, social worker, or counselor and serves as a resource to our youngest students and their families and teachers. This role is a part of the school’s Mental Health Team.
The right candidate must be welcoming, discrete, professional, playful and able to initiate and lead when needed. The ideal candidate will be passionate about supporting young children as they navigate the joys and challenges of a progressive school community.
Responsibilities:
Work with Children & Parents
- Facilitate or co-facilitate workshops for teachers and parents about child development
- Co-facilitate student support team meetings for each classroom on an as needed basis
- Collaborate with the DEI director around themes of identity, power and privilege and how they impact the emotional wellbeing of children
- Meet with families and teachers to develop strategies to support the social-emotional growth, behavior, and learning needs of children
- Meet with parents/caregivers individually
- Make therapeutic referrals to outside providers when appropriate
- Interpret results of outside neuropsychological and psychoeducational evaluations
- Actively engage with children in their classrooms and during recess to be integrated fully into the community
- Create and teach about social emotional themes in classrooms at developmentally appropriate level
- Respond to student behavioral and emotional crises across Children’s Programs when needed
- Support children individually and in groups. This may include pull-out work, supporting children within classrooms, and accompanying students on field trips.
Other Responsibilities
- Facilitate workshops for teachers about adult emotional wellness
- Collaborate with specialists, teachers, administrators, and other school staff on a variety of issues
- Maintain contact and liaison with outside therapists and other appropriate services such as social skills groups
- Co-facilitate mandated reporter training for staff
- Provide coverage for other mental health team members in other parts of the school when necessary.
- Fulfill weekly communities duties as assigned which may include but are not limited to lunch, recess, early morning care, subbing, and bus
- Maintain up to date notes through documenting sessions, contacts, and mental health files within the school’s data systems
- Assist with the admissions process for incoming students by interviewing candidates, reviewing applicant work, and other tasks as needed by the admissions team
- Meet and collaborate regularly with other members of the Mental Health Team, your supervisor, and other members of the school. These meetings include but are not limited to weekly division meetings, supervision meetings, mental health team meetings, and grade-level team meetings
- Participate in community response to current events that might invoke fear, trauma, or concern among children, faculty, and/or families
- Serve as a mandated reporter for issues that require notification to ACS
- Participate in the school wide Student Support Team
- Provide clinical observation in classrooms
- Support with some event or trip planning duties as assigned.
- Other responsibilities as assigned
Qualifications:
- An advanced degree in mental health support, with a preference for social work, PhD or PsyD in psychology
- Excellent and demonstrated communication skills
- Deep understanding of young children in particular
- Background in working with teachers on social/emotional classroom strategies
- Experience working with families around identity, parenting and social emotional development
- Experience in play therapy techniques
- Commitment to issues of social justice, diversity, equity, and anti-bias in education and a willingness to engage in identity development individually and with colleagues
- An understanding of the goals and philosophy of progressive education
- Experience working in a school setting
